Marathon Oil announced further cuts to its 2015 capital spending plan, reducing numbers another 20 percent from their initial December forecast. This represents a total capex that is less than half of last year’s budget. The company will continue to focus spending on its shale resources and will reduce exploration spending by more than half.

Bakken Highlights

Marathon reports that its Bakken production increased 38% from 2013. This number includes 17 gross operated Bakken wells to sales, with 15 piloted enhanced completions. 18 pilot completion wells averaging greater than 30% uplift in cumulative production over the first 60 days. For 2015, Marathon’s operations in the Bakken will receive a $760 million piece of the pie, which represents 22% of the company’s total budget and includes approximately $550 million for drilling, completions and recompletions.